Written by historian Richard Hough and presented by the U.S. Navy, the late-1960s film The American Dreadnought gives viewers a brief history of the American battleship USS New Jersey and a solid background of this class of ship. The film opens by taking viewers to the spring of 1921 where planes sink battleships as part of the agreement to cease battleship production following World War I. The film then cuts to 1966 and shows viewers retired battleships sitting idle at a remote pier in the Philadelphia Navy yard. The three ships are the Iowa, Wisconsin, and New Jersey. Footage shows the battleships sailing at sea (04:41), then the film gives viewers a glimpse inside one of these dreadnoughts (05:37). This is followed by the commission of the New Jersey in 1943 (06:20). Next, the film shows the New Jersey at sea, where it moves its guns. There is an aerial view of the ship, and then the film shows the New Jersey during a battle in the Pacific against Japanese forces. The film then takes viewers on a tour inside the ship, including the vessel’s war room and the captain’s room. Footage shows the battleship firing its guns and of a naval battle at night (12:00). Fleet Admiral William Frederick Halsey Jr., aka “Bull” Halsey, walks on the deck of the New Jersey in 1945, and then Halsey appears to play deck tennis. During the invasion of Okinawa, the New Jersey fires its guns. The ship’s crew celebrates victory. There is additional aerial footage of the Dreadnought (14:55), which is followed by footage of the ship firing its guns off the coast of the Korean peninsula (15:20). The film then shows the exterior of the ship as it sits unused at a remote pier in the naval yard. The New Jersey is not idle for long: the ship is moved into a dry dock for repairs and to prepare for a new mission (18:00). Naval shipyard workers walk around the massive ship in the drydock. Men use a firehose to clean off the hull of the ship. A new crew arrive and board the New Jersey. The ship is moved out of the drydock (23:22). The film shows the bridge with the vessel’s commander; the New Jersey then goes out to sea for trial runs. The New Jersey is recommissioned for action in Vietnam (23:46); people gather to celebrate the rebirth of the Dreadnought. The ship slowly motors out of the Philadelphia harbor and down the river. The film ends with footage of the New Jersey heading out into the Atlantic Ocean.
USS New Jersey (BB-62) (“Big J” or “Black Dragon”) is an Iowa-class battleship and was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named after the US state of New Jersey. New Jersey earned more battle stars for combat actions than the other three completed Iowa-class battleships and was the only US battleship providing gunfire support during the Vietnam War.
During World War II, New Jersey shelled targets on Guam and Okinawa, and screened aircraft carriers conducting raids in the Marshall Islands. During the Korean War, she was involved in raids up and down the North Korean coast, after which she was decommissioned into the United States Navy reserve fleets, better known as the “mothball fleet”. She was briefly reactivated in 1968 and sent to Vietnam to support US troops before returning to the mothball fleet in 1969. Reactivated once more in the 1980s as part of the 600-ship Navy program, New Jersey was modernized to carry missiles and recommissioned for service. In 1983, she participated in US operations during the Lebanese Civil War.
New Jersey was decommissioned for the last time in 1991 (after serving a total of 21 years in the active fleet), having earned a Navy Unit Commendation for service in Vietnam and 19 battle and campaign stars for combat operations during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Lebanese Civil War, and service in the Persian Gulf. After a brief retention in the mothball fleet, she was donated to the Home Port Alliance in Camden, New Jersey, and began her career as a museum ship 15 October 2001.
